November 24, 2020 |
September 23, 2019 |
September 20, 2019 |
The Bumpy, New World of Supply Chains
The Economist magazine recently issued a very comprehensive special report on how global supply chains are undergoing a fundamental shift. I will summarize the key takeaways from the report. 1. Shorter, smarter, faster… and more vulnerable supply chains With the ongoing trade war and the rise in economic nationalism, global trade is undergoing major shift and supply chains are shrinking. Global trade growth has fallen from 5.5% in 2017 to... Read More
September 20, 2019 |
How the US Air Force Predicts What’s Next as the World Changes
The Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) has the not-so-easy task of determining how many aircraft, when and where, are needed to transport equipment and goods around the world every day to supply their missions. The Command manages a 1,100 aircraft fleet augmented with commercial airplanes as needed. Due to the explosion of e-commerce, accurately anticipating demand up to 12 months in advance is paramount as... Read More
September 18, 2019 |
Winning the War on Cancer and Counterfeit Drugs and other Inspiring Stories from LogiPharma US 2019
Winning the War on Cancer and Counterfeit Drugs and other Inspiring Stories from LogiPharma US 2019 By Dr. Madhav Durbha September 18, 2019 I just returned from the LogiPharma US 2019 held September 16-17 in Philadelphia. There were so many fascinating stories and inspiring themes that capturing all of them in a single blog post may be a challenge. Here are a few select stories: Integrated network strategy to support long term growth:... Read More
September 12, 2019 |
Q&A with LLamasoft’s Brilliant 2019 Interns!
Summer often ends too soon – especially when you’re working with the next wave of talented young professionals! We are so proud of all the interns accomplished and hope you enjoy this Q&A with a few of LLama Interns. Chung Hoon received his bachelor’s degree in economics from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his master’s degree in data science from University of Michigan. Why did you apply for the summer... Read More
September 2, 2019 |
5 Unique Aspects of the Avocado Supply Chain
With trade and border tensions rising, your avocado toast could be in danger! What else goes into finding the perfect avocado? Learn about 5 unique aspects of an avocado’s supply chain here! 1. Demand for avocados has skyrocketed It may not surprise you to find out that demand for avocados has risen. You have probably enjoyed some avocado toast, added it to a smoothie, or had some guacamole during the... Read More
September 1, 2019 |
3 Reasons to Start an Exciting Career at LLamasoft
3 Reasons to Start an Exciting Career at LLamasoft LLamasoft has been named one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Metro Detroit Area for six consecutive years, and we are not stopping anytime soon! If you are looking for an exciting career with meaningful impact at a highly respected company, LLamasoft is the place for you. Keep reading to find out why this global company... Read More
August 28, 2019 |
How the Trade War is Reshaping Global Supply Chains
As another round of tariffs looms, businesses are preparing to make difficult decisions when it comes to sourcing, moving and pricing the products they sell. Whether the trade war between the United States and China continues or comes to a sudden and unexpected conclusion, one thing is certain: now more than ever enterprises need to understand their options for designing the supply chain of the future. Indeed, the nature of globalization has changed. And with an additional... Read More
August 6, 2019 |
How math is becoming cool in supply chain – again!
When I started my career in the late ’90s, supply chain was a cool place for math geeks! As a discipline supply chain was not really that big in the universities. The traditional pathway into supply chain was through a major in operations research, industrial engineering, or business, often with each offering courses in their silos. Then there were those that managed to sneak in because of their experience in... Read More
July 19, 2019 |
Cost to Serve: A Framework for Profitability and Customer Excellence
4 stakeholders who benefit from cost to serve What is the real cost to meet specific customers’ needs? How much will it cost to increase service levels or introduce new products and services? How are challenges with suppliers or trade policies affecting the bottom line? Global businesses often struggle to answer these types of questions. Thanks in part to changing preferences, SKU proliferation, fluctuating trade policies and the inherent complexity... Read More
July 16, 2019 |
The Digital Supply Chain Twin – An Emerging Trend to Reveal Interconnected Insights
There is no single formula for supply chain digitization, and you may be like many companies who are either exploring or actively implementing any combination of the trends we outlined in our previous blog. In its recently published report, The 2019 Top Supply Chain Trends You Can’t Ignore, Gartner maps out eight supply chain trends. One thing is very apparent – change is coming at a rapid pace. Per the... Read More
July 16, 2019 |
LLamasoft Awards Our Partner Ecosystem
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb The pace of modern life frequently means that we sometimes move too quickly to see the small but very important steps we are taking together. We recently took a moment to celebrate and award partner success during our global LLamaCon event in Chicago and at a handful of regional events. Each... Read More
July 10, 2019 |
AI, Advanced Analytics and Digital Twin Among Leading Supply Chain Tech Trends
Matt Tichon is LLamasoft’s Vice President of Industry Strategy. Gartner Report: The 2019 Top Supply Chain Technology Trends You Can’t Ignore A sea of innovative technology has surfaced over the last few years, bringing the potential to make a strategic impact on supply chains and operations. Separating the signal from the noise is no small task and many of these new technologies require a hefty investment of time, money and... Read More
June 28, 2019 |
A Summary of the Best from LLamaCon
In June 2019, we hosted our biggest LLamaCon yet at the Downtown Chicago Marriott on the Magnificent Mile with 700+ attendees, 200+ industries and endless takeaways for the supply chain industry. Find out what you missed or relive the event with this collection of our favorite articles, photos and videos gathered during the event. Perspectives from Industry Leaders LLamasoft’s Dr. Madhav Durbha is a prolific supply chain and technology expert.... Read More
June 21, 2019 |
LLamaCon Day 3: The Power of Global Supply Chains
While the weather in Chicago may not have been sunny, the last day of LLamaCon 2019 warmed up with more partners and customers sharing their stories about how they are moving their organizations forward with supply chain management, demand modeling tools and technology. LLamasoft is striving to solve global challenges through modeling and optimization. LLamasoft’s CEO Razat Gaurav mentioned in his keynote speech on the first day of LLamaCon, “There... Read More
June 20, 2019 |
Day 2 of LLamaCon: Industry Challenges and the Future of Technology
“The changing expectations of consumers have accelerated the pace of supply chain change.” – LLamasoft CEO Razat Guarav The second day of LLamaCon 2019 came to a close with more than 200 companies in attendance from around the world who represent $4.5 trillion in revenue. The day’s events included panel conversations with industry leaders, breakout sessions with customer use cases and a roundtable discussion where executives addressed industry trends and... Read More
June 19, 2019 |
LLamaCon’s Partner Day Highlight: Alignment in Strategies and Product Use
LLamasoft’s LLamaCon 2019 kicked off with its Second Annual Partner Day on Tuesday, June 18 at Marriott Magnificent Mile in Chicago. The event, which saw a record in attendance, is designed to empower LLamasoft’s partners around the world to help customers get the most out of their supply chain solutions. “LLamasoft has been putting on LLamaCon events now for several years and it’s a great annual event to meet and... Read More
June 5, 2019 |
Profitable Sustainability Solutions for Supply Chains
According to the United Nations, carbon emissions have increased by 50% since 1990. Many companies rightfully tout their sustainability initiatives, but supply chains continue to produce a significant amount of the globe’s carbon emissions. Sustainable supply chain techniques within production, packaging, inventory, and transportation can have improvements that will positively impact sustainability initiatives and bottom lines. Read this blog to find out how LLamasoft intends to work with some of... Read More
June 4, 2019 |
Here is Why LLamasoft is Going Green.
You may have noticed LLamasoft recently revealed a new, green identity. This blog explains how our business objectives align with our new color pallet and branding! It’s not just about a new HEX color, it’s a symbol for the ways in which our clients and recruits conceptualize the monumental impact LLamasoft can have on the world. Keep reading to find out how LLamasoft’s initiatives surround growth, value, and sustainability. Growth In nature, green is a... Read More
May 30, 2019 |
How to Be Green at LLamaCon
LLamasoft is taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint of our annual user conference, LLamaCon. Here are ways you can contribute to a “greener” supply chain event! Lessen the Carbon Footprint of Your Travel We did a little research about sustainable travel and compiled some of the best ideas to be more eco-friendly in your LLamaCon travels. Travel by land: Train, car, and bus rides emit a significantly less amount... Read More
May 20, 2019 |
Reflections from the 2019 Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference
“Is Excel digital?” – the question came direct at the audience during a breakout session! It was one of the several reflective moments I felt at the recently concluded 2019 Gartner supply chain executive conference. To me, the answer lies in the bigger question of is “digital” the means or is it the end in itself? Before I share my view on this, let us walk through some cool examples... Read More
April 26, 2019 |
Catalyzing the Improvement of Immunization Supply Chains through System Design
Lessons from Immunization Supply Chain System Design Summit, Abidjan, February 27 – March 1, 2019 I had the privilege of representing LLamasoft as a participant and presenter at the Immunization Supply Chain System Design Summit held in Abidjan from February 27 – March 1, 2019. The summit was organized by UNICEF’s Supply Chain Strengthening Centre and was a fruitful and productive event. One of the highlights was that this was... Read More
April 24, 2019 |
Supply Chain Innovations Elevates Global Immunization Coverage
Ground-breaking supply chain techniques are contributing to more children being immunized worldwide than ever before. An immunization supply chain involves the actual physical movement of immunizations from manufacturers to health facilities for routine and ‘campaign’ delivery. When we think about supply chains in low and middle-income countries, the conversations center around the lack of resources. However, there have been many advances in these differently-resourced settings from which other supply chains... Read More
April 18, 2019 |
What Kind of LLamaCon Attendee Are You?
Are you the Newcomer, LLamaCon Loyalist, Knowledge Seeker, Green Machine, or Networker? Find out what LLamaCon has to offer you! This can’t-miss-supply chain event will take place in Chicago from June 18 – 20. First-time LLamaCon attendees – this information is for you! Be sure to attend the LLamaCon 101 Session on Tuesday afternoon of the conference. This will help all attendees make the most of their conference experience with information about... Read More
April 12, 2019 |
Patient centric networks and some fascinating supply chain stories from LogiPharma Europe 2019
I just returned from the LogiPharma Europe 2019 conference held in Montreaux, Switzerland. Patient centricity dominated the conversations at this year’s event. This is driven by a number of factors. The payor’s shift from volume-based payments to outcome-based certainly is a major driving force. The rise of digital technologies and the rapidly evolving field of personalized medicine are certainly contributing factors as well. Here are some insights from the event... Read More
April 8, 2019 |
LLamaCon’s Main Stage Speaker Lineup
LLamasoft’s annual user conference, LLamaCon, is packed with learnings from some of the top supply chain professionals. There is more to come with our main stage lineup but get a sneak peek in this blog! Razat Gaurav, LLamasoft’s CEO, brings more than two decades of experience in the supply chain planning and execution space to LLamaCon. Throughout his career, Razat has played a critical role in the digital transformations of some... Read More
March 27, 2019 |
How Long Will it Take Companies to Break Even After Purchasing an Electric Vehicle?
Bhanu Potluri is an Applied Research Scientist at LLamasoft and wants to share his thoughts on a data-driven decisioning and electric vehicles. Here he tests a simulated model in California, the U.S. state with the most charging stations, and the Midwest, where there are far less charging stations. With endless variables at play, Bhanu Potluri predicts it will take companies approximately 2 – 5 years to break even on the... Read More
March 22, 2019 |
An industry caught between its digital ambitions and the ground realities: Insights from LogiChem EU 2019
I just returned from the LogiChem EU 2019 event that took place from March 19th to 21st in Amsterdam. The event was packed with who’s who of the supply chain community of chemicals industry in attendance. With so much ground to cover, let me get straight to my takeaways: 1) The digital agenda is ambitious – but then the ground realities intervene: Robotic Process Automation (RPA), AI/ML, Big data, and... Read More
March 21, 2019 |
Meet Two Female Leaders on LLamasoft’s Engineering Team
Meet the two women at LLamasoft who are making a difference in and outside of work to encourage more women to pursue STEM educations and careers! LLamasoft is proud to share their inspiring perspectives on the state of women in tech, and encourage anyone who is considering a career in STEM to follow their dreams. Diverse teams create diverse and innovative ideas. The more unique perspectives that are brought to... Read More
March 20, 2019 |
The State of Women in Tech [Infographic]
As a part of Women’s History Month, LLamasoft wants to spread awareness about the benefit of diverse teams within technology and business. See the infographic below to learn how more diverse groups lead to a stronger business, as well as the challenges facing women in the technology field. Apply today!... Read More
March 18, 2019 |
Debugging Tools for Network Optimization
Introduction Supply Chain Guru is a tool that is easy to use. Tables and Fields are all pre-populated, and users just need to convert and translate the company data into the information a model need. When the model gets more complex and contains more data elements, the chances to have an infeasible model increase. The reasons a model is infeasible can be categorized into two: Model Structure issue. For example,... Read More
March 15, 2019 |
Supply Chain Design Takes Center Stage at the 2019 Logistic Summit in Mexico
I just returned from the Logistics Summit & Expo 2019, the largest supply chain event in Mexico with over 2000 attendees and hundreds of more exhibitors. It was an action-packed event with a number of industry verticals and companies across US, Mexico, Central & South America, representatives from academia, industry consortia, and media in attendance. I was pleasantly surprised to find more conversations around Supply Chain Design in a variety... Read More
March 13, 2019 |
How LLamasoft’s Learning Experience Team is Helping Build Better Supply Chains…with Knowledge!
We at LLamasoft are pumped. Better yet. We are psyched. We are on the verge of being able to help our customers more than ever. We are doing it new ways, but the backbone is doing exciting things with data as we have always done. My name is Andrew McGuire. Over a year and a half ago I joined the Instructional Technologist position on the Learning Experience (LX) team. Our... Read More
March 7, 2019 |
14 Brain-Building Books About Supply Chain and Decisioning
You have the power to develop yourself professionally by simply opening a book. Expand your thinking and learn new ideas about supply chain and decisioning from some of the members of LLamasoft’s team! Supply Chain Logistics Management by Donald Bowersox Recommended by Arad Adler, Product Tech Manager Interesting fact about this is Mr. Bowesox – he was a professor at Michigan State University and is considered as one of the... Read More
March 6, 2019 |
Modeling Service in Network Optimization
With so much effort focused on cost minimization, modeling service can often be relegated to the backburner. However, the rise of eCommerce and our seemingly endless desire for ‘just in time’ consumption has ratcheted the importance of service across retail with ripple effects in other industries, as well. Whether or not service is considered as part of network design can have implications on facility locations, mode mix, and inventory from... Read More
March 1, 2019 |
Is it the end of globalization?
With protectionist policies increasingly threatening free trade agreements and associated increases in taxes and tariffs, the globalization of the last 20 years looks to be in reverse gear. Thanks to Trump’s trade wars, new NAFTA and not forgetting the Brexit – yes, of course, I mean Brexit, we live in torrid political times. As global organizations face potential supply chain disruption on a range of fronts, we recently ran a... Read More
February 21, 2019 |
How to Leverage Supply Chain Design Amidst Trade Wars
Uncertainties between the world’s biggest economies continue to grow as nationalism and other geopolitical factors accelerate trade wars. Companies must face the realities of these risks and have a swift way of analyzing the impact on how they source and distribute products. The new tariffs of 10% imposed by the U.S. on some of its trading partners are currently postponed until March 2019 and will have a significant impact on... Read More
February 6, 2019 |
Sensitivity Analysis in Network Optimization
Reasons for sensitivity analysis Optimization, by definition, provides the single best answer given a prescribed set of inputs and a specific objective. The power of algorithms makes it easy to return an optimal answer to a relatively complex problem. For instance, network optimization is a fantastic tool for providing the single best answer for a problem such as minimizing cost under known conditions, including demand, supply, and transportation and labor... Read More
January 31, 2019 |
Inspirational Mentorships at LLamasoft
Mentorships are important because they provide a safe environment for discussion and guidance that can often go both ways between mentor and mentee to strengthen leadership, networking, and interpersonal skills. They also help break down barriers and encourage cross-team discussions. I have had several mentor/mentee relationships over the years, and every discussion opens my eyes to new perspectives and challenges my thinking. I helped start the mentorship program at LLamasoft with... Read More
January 29, 2019 |
The Psychology of Building Enterprise Platforms
We live in a platform-powered shared economy. Nearly all industries from transport (Uber), retail (Amazon), payment (Square), service (Etsy) and much more have been touched by the power of digitalized platforms. In some instances, the power of industry disruptions has been such that governments and regulators have lagged far behind the changes. Over time, governments needed to adjust laws to conform to these new socially accepted conventions. In just the... Read More
January 18, 2019 |
Model Building: Approaches to Automation
An early step in the typical model-building process is identifying data requirements and tracing them back to data sources. Though generally good advice to start with the end in mind, it can be overwhelming to trace Supply Chain Guru tables and fields back to various data sources, especially if you are unfamiliar with either – or both – the SCG tables or the organization’s source or reporting systems. The good... Read More
January 10, 2019 |
Automating the Model Building Process
The Why: Reasons for Automation The holy grail of supply chain design is to have a ‘living model’ at your fingertips. From this living model, you can quickly test scenarios by pulling the supply chain levers under consideration and assessing the impact to key metrics. While extremely valuable insights are unlocked by applying scenarios to the living model, this metaphoric pot of gold is far-too-often at the end of an... Read More
January 2, 2019 |
Thoughts About Supply Chain Design Org Structure
Two common questions among supply chain professionals are, “How should we set up our Supply Chain Design organization?”, or “What is the best structure for a Supply Chain Design organization?” To start, there is no single best structure for a design organization. There are various factors that will help shape the decision, so it really requires some thought on the given organization’s set-up and overall objectives with design. In most... Read More
December 28, 2018 |
Defining Metrics for Success in Supply Chain Design
Mark Armstrong is a Customer Success Strategist at LLamasoft. Not enough companies are measuring successes (or failures) when it comes to supply chain design. As I engage with more and more through our DECODE methodology I consistently see a gap with teams not having metrics in place to measure their Supply Chain Design organization. Or if they do have something in place it’s simply tracking savings opportunities identified through their... Read More
December 20, 2018 |
Meet LLamasoft’s Talent Acquisition Team
Looking to start a new job at LLamasoft? Want to know more about our recruiters? Meet LLamasoft’s Talent Acquisition team to find out what they look for in new members of the herd, and why LLamasoft is a great place to work! Sang Lam, Talent Acquisition Manager What do you look for in recruits? Technical ability is a piece of the puzzle but it goes further than that in our... Read More
December 12, 2018 |
Supply Chain Agility: When Design Meets Planning
While supply chain planning and execution get talked about quite a bit as the two pillars of supply chain management, the third pillar, design, is often thought about as something that is done once a year or so, if at all. However, rapidly evolving business climate as a result of rising consumerism, economic nationalism, channel and SKU complexity, dynamic pricing and promotions amongst others – is necessitating organizations to have speed and... Read More
December 5, 2018 |
How Santa’s Elves Design an Optimized Supply Chain
Get in the holiday spirit by reading a guest blog from one of Santa’s elves, Jack Jolly. For thousands of years, a group of dedicated elves have tried to optimize Santa’s supply chain with handwritten notes and excel sheets. In order to boost elf esteem, the elves at Claus Industries started using LLamasoft’s sophisticated supply chain design software to make sure everyone gets everything on their Christmas list at the... Read More
November 16, 2018 |
LLamacon EMEA Day 2 Takeaways: Faster, Smarter, More Frequent Decision Making and More
Day 2 of LLamacon yet again was packed with some great content and several thought-provoking and highly inspiring presentations, just like day 1. Here are some key takeaways from day 2 by Madhav Durbha, LLamasoft’s Group VP. Get comfortable with complexity: Allistair Balderson of IGD kicked the day off with some very interesting insights into 3 key supply chain features for growth – Self-disruptive and technologically adept, Transparency and Trust,... Read More
November 15, 2018 |